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Elementary school pupils' misconceptions related to the thematic map use
Šmídová, Michala ; Havelková, Lenka (advisor) ; Kocová, Tereza (referee)
The thesis deals with identification and analysis of misconceptions that are formed when the ninth grade pupils work with thematic maps. It is divided into two main parts. The first part, which is theoretical, informs the readers about the aims of the thesis and defines the fundamental terms on the basis of the literature review. The misconceptions in thematic cartography are described in detail as well as the methodology of the research. The phenomenographic interview was used as a method for collecting qualitative data in order to fulfil the established aim. The research was realized in five schools situated in Ústecký region, in Děčín district, with twenty pupils. More specifically, the research aim was to find out whether there exists, and if so, then what is the impact of pupils' orientation in elementary geographic knowledge, used cartographic method and correctness of thematic map on pupils' conceptions. Keywords: misconception, map skill, thematic map, elementary education
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Level of Understanding of Basics of Genetics and Molecular Biology by Students of Secondary Education
Machová, Markéta ; Ehler, Edvard (advisor) ; Zrzavá, Magda (referee) ; Králík, Miroslav (referee)
Genetics has been part of secondary education for decades. However, research on the outcomes of science education has long shown that pupils have various types of misconceptions and are not able to deeply understand the basic principles of heredity and genetics. This results in their inability to navigate in daily-life problems related to this topic and make informed decisions in their life. Deeper diagnostics of these problems as well as identification of their origin is still missing both abroad and in the Czech Republic, which unable to design effective steps leading to improvement of educational outcomes. Several analyses were conducted to describe the current state of genetics education at lower and upper secondary level in the Czech Republic from the perspective of the curriculum, textbooks, students understanding of the topic, conduction of the lessons and its impact on the students. Questionnaire was used as a main research tool. The questionnaire for pupils combined knowledge test and attitude items, while the questionnaire for teachers was used to reveal their approach and attitudes towards genetics lessons and teaching conditions of their school. Content analysis was used to analyse relevant documents affecting education (curricula and textbooks). The results pointed to problems at...
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Elementary school pupils' misconceptions related to choropleth and proportional symbol maps
Šmídová, Michala ; Havelková, Lenka (advisor) ; Kocová, Tereza (referee)
The diploma thesis deals with the identification and analysis of misconceptions that are formed when the ninth grade pupils work with thematic maps of quantitative mapping methods, specifically with the choropleth map and proportional symbol map. The theoretical introduction defines the tested mapping methods, reviews previous foreign and Czech studies of map skills, and describes misconceptions that are formed both in cartography in general and specifically when working with thematic maps of quantitative mapping methods. The theoretical part is followed by the practical part - the research methodology and the design of an open conceptual test itself. The test is compiled according to the concept map, which was based on the literature review of previous empirical studies and theoretical publications. From the conceptual map eight propositions (statements) that are key to understanding the concept of choropleth map and proportional symbol map were determined based on an expert evaluation. The conceptual test was used to reveal misconceptions that are formed when working with these mapping methods. A total of 257 pupils from eight primary schools across Czechia took part in the testing and a total of 59 misconceptions of varying severity and frequency were revealed. These misconceptions were then...
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Electricity and magnetism: Hands-on minds-on approach
Koudelková, Věra ; Dvořák, Leoš (advisor)
Title: Electricity and magnetism: Hands-on minds-on approach Author: Věra Koudelková Department: Department of Physics Education Supervisor: Doc. RNDr. Leoš Dvořák, CSc., KDF Abstract: The PhD. thesis is focused on high school students' understanding of electricity and magnetism and on experiments which can help students to develop this understanding. The thesis can be divided into two parts: In the first research part typical misconceptions of high school students in the area of electricity and magnetism are described, both misconceptions known from foreign literature and results of Czech Conceptual Test of Electricity and Magnetism. This test is based on the known Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism, but unlike it and other conceptual tests in electricity and magnetism this new Czech test is intended for high school students. The second part of the thesis is developmental. It contains methodical materials, lab works and experiments which partly arise from the discovered misconceptions. In this part of the work four learning sequences (we chose topics, which were identified as problematic for students), four laboratory works and 13 experiments are described. Prepared materials were verified during instructions in high school and during conferences for physics teachers. Experiences with them are...
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The analysis of the textbooks and the creating of the learning texts about the thematic unit of carbohydrates and their metabolism for the gymnasial grammar schools
Šmídl, Milan
The main parameters describing content and the accessibility of information from textbooks are many aspects such as text difficulty and others. Individual characteristics of pupils - that are represented by chosen student preconceptions and misconceptions - also belong to key factors. The providing of the comprehensive view of the issues regarding analysis and the linking of acquired pieces of knowledge with the practical textbook creation have been the main aims of this dissertation. The creation of an instructional text follows the analysis results of the topic carbohydrates and their metabolism in chosen textbooks and the preconception analysis of biochemical terms. The instructional text respects the results of the analysis. The theoretical background of textbook creation (the functions of textbooks, their structure, content, characteristics and investigated parameters) has been described in detail in the theoretical part of this doctoral thesis. It is followed by the survey of the information concerning student preconceptions and the possibilities for their analysis and use in teaching. The aspects of textbooks use from the perspective of pupils, teachers and publishers, as well as the relation of the topic carbohydrates and their metabolism to curriculum documents have been described in the...
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Evidence concerning pupils'preconceptions of intellectual disability in the context of the paradigm shift in today's education
Pivarč, Jakub
This dissertation thesis is designed as a theoretical and research survey focusing on the currently marginalised issue of intact pupils' preconceptions of intellectual disability. The survey aims to outline the concept of intellectual disability concisely and to accentuate the current paradigm shift in education with regards to integration and inclusion. Particular attention was paid to the theoretical and epistemological basis of preconceptions as well as to the current state of scientific knowledge of the presented area. Research was conducted in order to analyse and characterise intact pupils' preconceptions of intellectual disability. Furthermore, the empirical study aimed to determine whether pupils' preconceptions differ depending on their gender, year of school attended and the declared experience of persons with intellectual disability. A transversal quantitative survey was conducted at 22 mainstream basic schools in the Czech Republic. The research sample consisted of 2230 intact pupils attending the 5th , 7th and 9th forms of basic schools. Data were collected by means of mind mapping and non-standardised questionnaire of our own construction. The findings demonstrate that pupils perceive the phenomenon of intellectual disability in terms of medical paradigm (emphasising the...
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The New Approaches to Teaching of Rudimentes of Quantum Physics
Králík, Jiří
J. Králík: The New Approaches to Teaching of Rudiments of Quantum Physics Abstract: This thesis is dealing with didactics of quantum theory and its modern trends. It contains a brief overview of problems in quantum physics education and many references to important sources in the field. Part of the thesis is focused on identification of some sources potential misunderstandings in the process of teaching and learning of quantum theory (misconceptions). The next part is devoted to a problem with visualization in microworld and after that I dealing with Feynman's approach to quantum theory, its advantages and disadvantages and I enumerate some pedagogical projets that continues in that direction. In another part I treat to my proposal for using quantum field theory terminology in introductory modern physics courses. The last chapter of the thesis is dealing with my project "The Road under Perception", which is intended as a teaching text about (modern) physics for non-experts. The thesis also contains appendix with excerpt of my article about history of microworld's origins cognition.
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Students' successfulness and strategies when working with a map and factors affecting them
Havelková, Lenka ; Hanus, Martin (advisor) ; Knecht, Petr (referee) ; Bláha, Jan Daniel (referee)
Nowadays, information is increasingly presented in the form of various graphic materials. One of the key means of information visualisation is a map. Maps are complex representations and it is necessary to comprehend several cartographic concepts and to acquire skills and strategies for their efficient use. For this reason, it is important to give maps sufficient attention in the course of education. For the education to be of high quality, it is fundamental to understand the process of the map use and factors affecting this process and its successfulness. Therefore, the general purpose of the dissertation thesis is to develop this understanding. Specifically, the thesis has four main aims. One of them is to identify a map skill level of Czech students while using thematic maps since the popularity of thematic maps is increasing together with the number of cartographic insufficiencies they contain. These insufficiencies can inter alia cause a formation of misconceptions both about the maps and phenomena and regions they display. The second main aim is to identify and describe strategies that students choose to solve tasks which require the use of a thematic map. Additionally, the sub-aim is to understand the influence of chosen factors on the level of map skills as well as on choice and efficiency...
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Teaching Mendelian inheritance by didactic game
Lišková, Kateřina ; Janštová, Vanda (advisor) ; Mourek, Jan (referee)
This diploma thesis focuses on the education of genetics to grammar schools and students' comprehension of genetics. This abstract scientific discipline is considered difficult to learn so I decided to prepare educational materials with the aim to improve students' understanding of the topic. The main aim of the thesis was to prepare and test a didactic game focused on Mendelian inheritance and compare the effectivity of this kind of interactive education compared with the classical explanatory style of education. Other aims included evaluating the influence of other variables; comparing the difficulty of individual terms in genetics and the connection within chosen triplet of terms; and identifying the most common misconceptions. The data was collected in four classes of upper graders at two grammar schools by newly prepared questionnaire focused on demographic and knowledge. The results showed that the didactic game was as efficient as the classical explanatory method at creating short term knowledge Students had a bigger problem with explaining the connection among the terms than defining the individual terms. The most complicated term reported by the students was chromosome. It was the only term in which there wasn't any improvement between pre-test and post-test. Part of this thesis is also...
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Educational game for teaching cartography
Zýma, Marek ; Havelková, Lenka (advisor) ; Matějček, Tomáš (referee)
The presented thesis focuses on the creation of an educational game, as a mean for teaching cartography in lower secondary education. The game serves as a tool for preventing a formation of misconceptions related to cartography and for developing map skills of pupils in lower secondary schools The bachelor thesis also includes a review of literature focused on teaching cartography on lower secondary education, especially focused on cartography in curricular documents, map skills and misconceptions in cartography. Moreover, an integral part of the thesis is the methodology of creating the educational game specialized in cartography teaching and thorough description of the individual components of the game.
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